''Old Maids'' is an 1841

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endi ...

by the Irish writer

James Sheridan Knowles James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor. A relative of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Knowles enjoyed success writing plays for the leading West End theatres. Later in his career he also produced ...

. It was first staged at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 12 October 1841. The cast included John Harley as John Blount, George Vandenhoff as Thomas Blount,

Walter Lacy Walter Lacy (1809 – 13 December 1898) was an English actor. In a long career he played leading roles in London theatres. Early life and career Lacy was born, as Walter Williams, in Bristol in 1809, the son of a coach-builder, and was educated ...

as Robert,

Robert William Honner Robert William Honner (18 January 1809 – 31 December 1852) was an English actor and theatre manager. Early and personal life Honner was the youngest son of John Honner, solicitor, of the firm of Fletcher & Honner, of the parish of St. A ...

as Harris, William Payne as Stephen,

Alfred Wigan Alfred Sydney Wigan (24 March 1814Some sources say 24 March 1818 – 29 November 1878) was an English actor-manager who took part in the first Royal Command Performance before Queen Victoria on 28 December 1848.Gillan, DonA History of the R ...

as Jacob,

Lucia Elizabeth Vestris Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (''née'' Elizabetta Lucia Bartolozzi; 3 March 1797 – 8 August 1856) was a British actress and a contralto opera singer, appearing in works by Mozart and Rossini, among others. While popular in her time, she was more ...

as Lady Blance and Louisa Nisbett as Lady Anne. It was produced towards the end of the theatrical career of Sheridan Knowles, before he turned to novel-writing.The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature p.733

References

Bibliography

* Burwick, Frederck Goslee, Nancy Moore & Hoeveler Diane Long . ''The Encyclopaedia of Romantic Literature''. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. * Walker, Hugh. ''The Literature of the Victorian Era''. Cambridge University Press, 2011. 1841 plays West End plays Irish comedy plays Plays by James Sheridan Knowles {{19thC-play-stub